Unit4 Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A)
Author: Unit4 Communications October 29, 2024 4 min read

Unit4 FP&A vs. Excel – Insights from the BARC Planning Survey 2024

For organizations still relying on traditional tools like Excel spreadsheets for their financial planning and analysis (FP&A), BARC The Planning Survey 2024 makes a compelling case for upgrading to Cloud-based specialist FP&A software. 

According to the survey, Unit4 FP&A outshines Excel spreadsheets in several critical areas, providing more flexibility, ease of use, and superior business benefits. In this blog, we’ll explore how Unit4 FP&A stacks up against Excel, drawing on findings from the latest BARC report.

 

What did users say about Excel?

While Excel remains a staple for many financial teams, it’s important to remember it was designed as a personal productivity tool, and it’s increasingly being outclassed by modern, Cloud-based solutions like Unit4 FP&A. The BARC survey highlighted some key pain points among Excel users:

  • 28% of users find Excel missing key features, a problem rarely encountered by Unit4 FP&A users (only 3%)
  • 21% of Excel users are dissatisfied with the software, compared to a high satisfaction rate of 95% among Unit4 FP&A users

These results reflect Excel’s struggle to keep pace with more advanced platforms like Unit4 FP&A, particularly in terms of flexibility and scalability.

Click to read FP&A product brochure gated

Common problems reported by Excel users

Excel’s inability to adapt to modern FP&A demands becomes even clearer when examining common issues reported by its users. In key areas, Excel falls significantly behind Unit4 FP&A:

  • Handling large numbers of users - 18% of Excel users experienced this problem, whereas no Unit4 FP&A users reported it.
  • Lack of flexibility - 10% of Excel users struggle with flexibility, while Unit4 FP&A users face no such concerns.
  • Poor data integration - 24% of Excel users encounter issues with integrating data, while only 8% of Unit4 FP&A users have experienced this.

These challenges indicate that while Excel might work for smaller scale analysis, it falls short for more complex, dynamic financial planning tasks, where Unit4 FP&A performs well.

Would users recommend Excel?

When BARC asked users whether they would recommend Excel, 26% responded “Definitely not” or “Probably not,” signaling a growing frustration with Excel’s limitations. In contrast, 75% of Unit4 FP&A users indicated they would recommend the platform, highlighting the significant satisfaction gap between the two solutions.

 

men with a laptop happy

Unit4 FP&A achieves 4 top ranks and 16 leading positions in 4 different peer groups in the BARC Planning Survey 24

Get Unit4 FP&A´s highlights

 

BARC’s Business Benefits Index

BARC’s Business Benefits Index (BBI) offers a clear comparison of the tangible advantages users see from their FP&A platforms. On a scale from -2 to 10:

  • Excel scored 3.4, reflecting its basic, yet limiting, functionality
  • Unit4 FP&A scored 6.3, emphasizing its superior business benefits and efficiency in delivering value to users

This higher score for Unit4 FP&A points to its advanced features, scalability, and ability to support organizations in achieving their financial goals more effectively than Excel.

Unit4 FP&A’s standout performance in the BARC survey

It’s not just Excel that Unit4 FP&A outperforms — according to BARC The Planning Survey 2024, Unit4 FP&A ranks ahead of many major well-known vendors like SAP, Oracle, and IBM in key categories. 
With 4 top rankings and 16 leading positions in areas such as flexibility, self-service, and implementer support, Unit4 FP&A proves itself to be a leading FP&A tool far beyond the scope of Excel.

  • Flexibility overall - Unit4 FP&A ranks #1, making it ideal for organizations needing a platform that can adapt to changing business demands
  • Ease of use - 81% of users rate Unit4 FP&A highly for ease of use, compared to Excel’s more rigid and less intuitive interface
  • Implementer support - 75% of Unit4 FP&A users report excellent or good implementer support, making transitions to the platform smoother and faster

Final thoughts…

The findings from BARC The Planning Survey 2024 underscore a clear message for businesses seeking more than the basics: Excel is no longer sufficient for modern financial planning needs. 

Unit4 FP&A, with its strong performance across flexibility, ease of use, and implementer support, offers a comprehensive, Cloud-based solution that helps organizations unlock greater business value.

If you’re still relying on Excel, now might be the time to consider switching to Unit4 FP&A — a solution designed to meet the demands of modern businesses.

With 4 top rankings and 16 leading positions in the 2024 BARC survey, Unit4 FP&A is a clear leader in the world of financial planning software. Its robust functionality, flexibility, and ease of use make it an excellent choice for businesses looking to move beyond Excel and embrace a more modern, efficient FP&A solution.

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